The Deep

Chapter 6

*Her*

There was a time when there were more of us. My mother and her sisters were the protectors of our clan. The men would leave for months at a time with the younglings until they were ready to assimilate into their roles in our home. My brother and I were the last to go with our fathers. No new babies were born after.

Slowly, my pod died out. Our fathers disappeared into the deep and we never saw them again. Our mothers and sisters would grow sick suddenly and die. My mother was the last to die. I am the sole female of my clan with no one to mate with. There was nothing left for me to save. So, I left in search for something better.

I hear the waves luring me awake from my rest from a small distance. There's a strange scent that fills the air. It makes my hunger prominent. Food.

"You're awake."

I scramble up and push myself up against the wall. A human female stands at the mouth of the entrance of the den that I am in. "It's okay." She reassures me in my language. I answer her with a quick flit of my hands. You understand my language?

"I do," she smiles kindly. "Come out and I'll tell you why." I hesitate. This human is unfamiliar to me. Whenever we came across someone that we didn't recognize, Mother and I would glide in the opposite direction and hide. I'm not sure what the equivalent would be on land. Or if there even is one. "Please don't be afraid of me. Come eat. I know you're hungry. The change will affect you this way for a few weeks until you get your core strength back in this form."

She hasn't approached me. She clearly knows the customs of my kind. I decided to trust her just for that. I'll eat food, I say as I stand, After, I leave. The human steps aside and lets me cross into the rest of her den. My eyes take it in, and I fall in awe. I've never been inside a human den before. But within all my wildest guesses, I would've never thought that one single den could contain a whole other world. Things that I do not have the words for nor the comprehensions for adorned the space and walls of her den.

"My name is Merida." She signs her name for me to understand. "Were you given a name?" The human seats me down on a square piece of incredibly solid driftwood. A name? We don't speak like humans do. Our voices are used for other purposes than to use nonsensical words. We wouldn't be able to hear it anyways, especially not in the deepest parts of the water. But later in my life, Mother would call me from our den with a specific song. I look at the human and sing the song. It sounds distorted but still beautiful. My notes aren't soft as hers, but they are still her songs.

I feel soft pinpricks coming from my eyes. My fingers touch the area and feel something cold on the skin. "Tears." The human explains. "I'm going to take a guess and assume that the song is sentimental for you." I have no idea what she meant by any of that. This is all very confusing. "If I still know my harmonics-and I do-then your song translates to Arya." Merida signs the human name. Arya.

I like it.

"Now," Merida disappears around into another part of her den, leaving me alone, "I didn't have fresh fish, so I went to the market while you rested. It isn't from our local fish market, but it'll do."

Merida comes back with something in her hands. The scent is different but familiar all the same. Food. "Yes, food!" Merida places it in front of me and I immediately rip it apart. "You're still acclimating to your human senses, so we'll try human food little by little. Next time, we'll try cooked fish." I don't listen to anything she says.

After I finished, I realized that Merida placed the same type of clothes as hers on me. I like them. I want more. "H-help. Clothes." Merida looks at me with an odd expression. I think she is pleased with me. I begin to doubt if I even said the words correctly. I clear my throat and try again. "Clothes. Help."

"Are you trying to ask for more clothes?"

I recognize the word and slap my hand on the wood-causing it to crack as a yes! "Okay, great," Merida laughs at my reaction. "I'll go shopping for you later. But how did you know those words? Where'd you hear them?" I tilt my head in thought. I'm not sure how long it's been but I do remember the male that stumbled upon me with his beast. A male. Near water. Merida's smile stills. Her eyes shutter back and forth. "What boy? A fisherman?"

Male with beast on black ground. Heard my watersong. Panic flickers in her eyes. "A boy from town heard your watersong? Who was it?" His image surfaces from my memory. The human male was tall. He looked kind and strong. If I ever saw him again, I would know. But I wouldn't know what the humans call him. So, I tell her what I would call him.

Elin.